


Beginnings

by madmeridian



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29511732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmeridian/pseuds/madmeridian
Summary: For Day #4 of Meronia event: Beginnings
Relationships: Mello | Mihael Keehl/Near | Nate River
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16
Collections: Meronia Event (Feb 14 - Feb 20 2021)





	Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to think of a fic following canon (or close to it) for this prompt but everything I wrote, I hated, so I did this dumb little AU of them meeting at an airport. It’s not the best, but I hope you guys like it

Mello despised the airport. Every time he went to one, everything seemed to go wrong. Security held him up, or his baggage got lost, or there was an issue with his ticket. 

This time around, his flight was delayed. Though it was nearly noon, the sky way dark, snow falling in a heavy blanket outside. He couldn’t even see the tarmac out the window past the white cascading down in thick flakes. 

The other people at the gate were scattered about, looking as disgruntled as he felt. At this rate, they might not even get on the plane until tonight. 

The only person sitting near him was a white-haired man, shuffling a deck of cards. He looked bored out of his mind too. 

“This sucks,” Mello started, gesturing towards the window. The man looked up at him, a brief flash of grey eyes meeting his, then staring out the window. “Can I play a game with you?” 

“What?” 

“A card game?” Mello prompted, nodding to the deck of cards. “To pass the time.” 

“I suppose. Do you know how to play Rummy?” 

“Yeah. I can keep score on my phone.” 

The man, who introduced himself as Near, was exceptionally good at playing Rummy. Mello swore as he lost, again. Near raised an eyebrow at him, gathering up the cards. 

“Perhaps we should play a different game,” Near suggested. “War? It’s a game of chance, at least.” 

“I’m not mad,” Mello gritted out, clearly mad. 

“You’re a bad liar.” Near began to shuffle again. “War, then. I would rather you not murder me before we even get on the plane.” 

“If we ever get on the plane,” Mello muttered, watching as Near dealt out the cards with practiced speed. “Why are you going to New York?”

“Family,” Near answered. A small crease formed between his eyebrows as he thought for a second. “Sort of.” 

“Sort of?” Mello prompted, picking up his stack of cards. 

“I would not call us a normal family, but it is family nonetheless. What about you?” 

“Work. I’ve got business there.” They both set down their cards. Mello swiped the two towards him, winning the battle. 

“Have you been before now?” Near asked. 

“Two or three times. I’m not a big fan of travel. Something always goes wrong.” 

“I don’t like to travel much either.” Near didn’t elaborate any further. 

“Hello everyone, apologies for the delay, but we will be boarding soon,” a voice over the intercom chimed out. 

“Thank god,” Mello breathed, getting off the ground. Near packed up his cards, getting up too. “Thanks for humoring me. I think I would’ve gone nuts if I’d just sat here for any longer.” 

“Likewise. It was nice meeting you,” Near said, shoving his cards back into his carry-on. 

The boarding went thankfully fast. Everyone wanted to get on and get off the ground already. The delay had been long enough. 

As Mello walked down the aisle towards his seat, he grinned. The person sitting in the seat next to him was none other than Near, who was already wrapped in a blanket and had headphones around his neck. 

“I guess you aren’t free from me yet,” Mello said, swinging his bag into the overhead. 

“No, I suppose not,” Near said dryly. “Though I’d rather it be you than another new person.” 

Mello sat down in his seat, very aware that there wasn’t a lot of space between him and Near. The thought was stupid. _You aren’t going to get a crush on a guy you met an hour ago._

“They’re supposed to be getting snow in New York too,” Mello said idly, looking out the window past Near. “I was at least hoping to get out of the bad weather.” 

Near hummed in agreement, but didn’t bother to humour Mello with small talk. Mello did gather by now that Near wasn’t all that into talking to anyone. It almost reminded him a bit of Matt, who rarely went along with idle conversation like that. 

As soon as it was announced that the plane would take off, Near put his headphones on. Mello waited until they were up in the air to put his own on, drowning out the quiet hum of conversation and snoring from the other passengers. 

After settling in, he’d nearly fallen asleep, but was jolted up again when he felt a weight on his shoulder. Groggily, he glanced down to see Near’s head leaning on him. Near was completely out, drooling a little on Mello’s shirt while he slept. 

_You aren’t gonna fall for a guy you met like an hour ago. You aren’t. You aren’t._

Near scooted a little closer to him, wrapping his blanket tighter around himself

_Shit._

* * *

At some point, Mello had finally fallen asleep too. When he woke up, Near was awake again, watching the clouds out the window. 

“We’re almost there. They made an announcement,” Near said. 

Mello stretched as best he could in the small space, groaning. “Shit. I’m gonna sleep so much when I get to my hotel.” 

“How long are you staying?” Near asked, eyes still on the window. Mello pretended that he didn’t see how pretty the reflection of the clouds looked in Near’s eyes. 

“A week. Time to do business and some sightseeing. I’ve never actually walked around the city or anything.”

“There’s a lot of cool places to go.” Near turned to him. “My family has taken me around a bit.” 

The topic seemed to strike an interest in Near, who gave him recommendations of places to go. Mello nodded along, almost wanting to ask Near if he’d come along too. He didn’t really want to go alone, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. 

The plane finally landed and everyone seemed to give out a shared sigh of relief. Mello stared at the back of Near’s head as they got off the plane, wondering what to say. _Hey, I just met you, but do you want to hang out? That’s fucking stupid, he wouldn’t say yes. I wouldn’t say yes if someone asked me. Just ask for his number or something._

Mello had already resigned to the fact it was probably too late, but Near pulled him aside just after they got off the ramp. He stuffed a napkin into Mello’s hand. 

“I could show you around some places if you want,” Near said nervously, shuffling his feet. “That’s my number.” 

“Oh, thanks,” Mello responded, dumbfounded. “I wouldn’t want to take you away from your family.” 

“I might need a break from them.” Near looked over to where two figures were waiting. One looked completely disheveled, messy black hair and crumpled jeans. The other was wearing a full suit, a sharp contrast to the person beside him.

“Yeah, I think I get,” Mello muttered. “In that case, I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer.” 

Near offered him a small, awkward smile. “It was nice meeting you, Mello.” 

“Nice meeting you too,” Mello said. Near nodded and walked, dragging his feet to meet his family members. Whoever the hell they were. 

Mello took another look at the napkin and grinned to himself. _Well, not the worst flight I’ve been on._

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys got some enjoyment out of this bs :/
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
